Disney’s pandemic blow eased by D2C

Disney+ is home to originals including Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian

The latest figures released by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) show its direct-to-consumer service Disney+ now has 73.7 million paid subscribers globally.

It comes after streamer reached the 50 million subs milestone in April, around the same time many countries were in lockdown as a result of the pandemic.

Disney+, which is now available in more than 25 countries, has been well received following its original launch in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico a year ago.

Since then, it has launched around Europe and in India, where it is offered in conjunction with the existing Hotstar service, Japan and Indonesia.

TWDC said its current subscription numbers exceeded its expectations for the service, the company having initially set a target of reaching between 60 million and 90 million subscribers and achieving profitability in the fiscal year 2024.

Although Disney+ has so far been a resounding success for the Mouse House, TWDC continues to be hit by the pandemic overall, with its theme parks and other key areas of its global business suffering.

In total, TWDC estimates the net adverse impact of Covid-19 on its current quarter and full-year segment operating income across all of its businesses as approximately US$3.1bn and US$7.4bn, respectively, inclusive of the impact at parks, experiences and products.

TWDC also reported that Hulu, another of its streamers, now has 36.6 million total subscribers, up from 32.1 million in May, while sports-focused service ESPN+, has 10.3 million, compared with 7.9 million in May.

Disney+ offers original series such as Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian alongside library content from brands such as Disney, Pixar, Marvel and National Geographic, plus more than 600 episodes of The Simpsons.

SVoD market leader Netflix currently has around 195 million subscribers and is available around the world.

“Even with the disruption caused by Covid-19, we’ve been able to effectively manage our businesses while also taking bold, deliberate steps to position our company for greater long-term growth,” said TWDC CEO Bob Chapek..

“The real bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer business, which is key to the future of our company, and on this anniversary of the launch of Disney+, we’re pleased to report that, as of the end of the fourth quarter, the service had more than 73 million paid subscribers – far surpassing our expectations in just its first year.”